As she was nearing him, suddenly a wall of fire emerged infront of her, evidently stopping her from going near him. He replied while looking into her fuming eyes through a screen of blazing fire, "I think we have somethings to clear". Rashmi stepped back and waited for him to talk. He asked, "What were you doing infront of the forbidden gate last night?".

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Rashmi replied fiercely, "I am not obligated to tell you". Agneya looked at her sternly and said, "As the crown prince of this Pranyakta Kingdom, I have authority over each and everyone including you. So tell me, why did you go to that forbidden gate? That too, in the middle of the night?". Rashmi stared back at him and asked, "I can ask you the same question. Why did you go to the forbidden gate, late in the night?".

Agneya looked at the stubborn girl infront of him and said with the little patience he had, "Samrat showed me that place and familiarised me with it's significance in this world. And He showed me how to transfer myself from one place to another through the use of portals. So I was practicing it last night. But the surprise was finding you there". Agneya found no problem in saying the truth as he didn't reveal any royal secrets.

Rashmi replied, "With the way You pulled me into the portal and transferred me from the gate to your chamber, it didn't seem like you were using it for the first time". Agneya smirked and said, "I can understand your surprise when you find someone more capable than you. But don't divert the topic, tell me why you went there? And why did you try to touch it?".

Rashmi said, "I followed my sister and reached there. She was trying to touch the gate and I stopped her". The fire which was blazing as a screen between them calmed down. Rashmi felt relaxed now as the hot atmosphere was over. She didn't find any reason to lie before him especially the Crown prince and thought, "May be He knows something which might explain this incident which even her sister couldn't explain".

Both of them could see the truth in the other person's eyes and believed it without a second thought. Agneya thought about her words and sat on the couch just below the window, which was beside the door of the balcony. Rashmi was surprised again and irritated as well and said, "Why are you sitting here now? I answered--", as she was moving towards him closer, once again a wall emerged between them but this time of water.

Agneya replied, "Whatever you want to talk, do it from a distance. I don't like strangers coming close to me physically, unless it's a fight". Rashmi took a deep breath and stepped back and said with a stiff smile, "Yuvraj! Could you please let me know the reason why you are still sitting here? I have already given you my answer right".

Before Agneya could answer her, Dakini came inside the chamber with a plate of food and started talking as usual, "Rajkumari, I have brought you food. Are you done--". Her words stopped in her throat as she saw who was sitting on the couch. She immediately bowed to greet him but saw her hands were full with the plate and a glass of water. Quickly, she placed them on a nearby table and properly greeted him with folded hands, "Pranam Yuvraj!".

Agneya nodded at her and Rashmi went near her to check the food. Then she ordered her to wait outside. Rashmi came to her previous position, standing infront of him at a distance and stared at him waiting for his answer. Agneya made an 'oh' face as if remembering her question and said after removing the water screen between them, "I think I should keep an eye on you so that you don't do anything like that night".

Rashmi was irked at his answer and said, "And I think, you are targeting the wrong person. If at all you want to keep an eye on someone then I think it's my sister, Charusheela. Not me". Agneya rested on the couch sideways with his arms kept on the headrest and said, "Well, you are there to keep an eye on your sister. So I am here". He kept looking at her frustrated face with a smirk on his face.

Rashmi after controlling her anger, told him, "Yuvraj! For observing my actions, you don't necessarily be present here in my chamber. Especially at night. It will become a big scandal if someone comes to know about this". Agni chuckled and said, "Just because I'm new to this world, Don't try to fool me Rajkumari. You, worrying about scandals, sounds unbelievable".

Rashmi rolled her eyes and said, "Ok, let me say it directly. I don't like anyone else within my chamber. So Get out of my room immediately". Agneya had now comfortably laid down on the couch, ready to sleep and just said, "I have decided to sleep here tonight". But Rashmi's concentration was not on his words but on his feet which was on her couch and staining the pure white colour of the couch. "Get out of my couch", Rashmi was ready to pull him out by herself but she realised that she couldn't move towards him.

Rashmi looked down at her feet to see her feet were covered in a hard grip of the sand which came out of nowhere. As she finally broke free from the grip, Agneya said, "If you try to touch me again, I will drench you in sand from head to toe". Now that he learnt her weakness, which is cleanliness, he would definitely use it to his advantage.

Rashmi who was looking at her sand covered feet, glared at him and asked seriously, "You do realise that I can complain about this to Samrat right? You don't have any right to barge into a lady's room, especially at night". Agneya didn't open his eyes and just said, "I don't have any right? Really?".

Rashmi kept looking at his face and he suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her from his sleeping position and said while looking into her eyes, "But the Mark on your entire back, shows that I have the right to be present here". Rashmi moved her eyes away from meeting his, and kept silence. She thought that he didn't notice this last night but what she didn't know was that men do get a tingling feel in their hands when they touch their soulmates.

Agni closed his eyes after seeing her uncomfortable and remembered the incident from last night.

(The mark is given in the picture but imagine it with only five spokes around the circle)

Flashback

Agni was trying to create the portal by concentrating all 5 powers at the same time and for testing purpose, he thought of the forbidden gate as the destination. Finally he was able to open the portal and went inside it and reached the forbidden gate. He was shocked to see a woman standing too close to the gate and was about to touch it. So he immediately pulled her by her arm and without talking anything, brought her back to his chamber through the portal.

After reaching there, Agni left her arm and felt the tingling feel in his hands. Rashmi rubbed her arm due to his tight grip and felt slight pain on her back as if something is poking her skin. Before he could question her, She quickly found her way out of his chamber as well as the men's residence of the Academy as she couldn't bear the pain on her back and directly went to the bathing pool in her chamber. She felt relaxed after cooling down her back.

Only after looking into the mirror, she realized that she had been marked by him as her soulmate. What she didn't know is that he saw the fading scar in her arm as well as the emerging mark on her back when she left his chamber.

Flashback end

Even after connecting the tingling feeling to the mark, he was quite not sure about the soulmate mark but now her silence on his remark, confirmed his doubts. Rashmi didn't think that he would have noticed that. Now that he knew, she doesn't know what she should do.

To get a break from the awkward situation, Rashmi went to the bathroom to wash off the sand from her feet. Agneya heard her walkway with the sound of her anklets. He opened his eyes and just smiled.

Rashmi came back from the bathroom and took her previous position and said, "Yes, I got marked by you. Now, What do you want me to do?". Agneya, still with closed eyes, asked, "Regained your composure?". Rashmi sighed at his observation but didn't let it show on her face. Now he opened his eyes and turned towards her while still lying on the couch.

Agneya said while looking at her blankly, "After seeing you hide the mark today by wearing a blouse that covers your whole back, I think we both are having the same thoughts. That is to keep this as a secret till we become comfortable and compatible with each other. And after that, we can marry infront of the world. What do you think?".

Glossary:
Samrat - Emperor
Samragyi - Empress
Rajkumar - Prince
Bratashree - Brother
Bhabhishree - sister-in-law
Acharya - Master/Teacher
Mamashree - Uncle (Mother's Brother)
Mamishree - Aunt (Mother's brother's wife)
Bade - elder or big
Chote - younger or small

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Hi guys,

What do you think Rashmi's answer will be?

Happy Tamil New year and Belated wishes for Gudi Padwa and Ugadi.

Do vote and comment if you like the chapter.

Thanks,
SM.